On September 15th, Gary Bettman and NHL owners locked out its players. One other prominent item began a lockout of its own: Sam Wolk’s horn.

Sam, a Washington Capitals superfan known for his loud tooting during games, left his famous prop at home for the entirety of the 115-day labor impasse. On December 6th when the Hershey Bears took on the Norfolk Admirals at the Verizon Center, Wolk came out to Verizon Center to support the Capitals’ minor league affiliate. The horn did not.

“It just wouldn’t be right to do it during a Bears game,” Wolk told me on the phone at the time. “It’s only for the Capitals. The day the NHL lockout’s over, the horn will end its lockout too.”

Well this morning, Washington’s Fox 5 had Sam, his horn, and several other Caps fans on their morning show to help promote the Capitals first home game of the season against the Winnipeg Jets. There was even some horn blowing.